German legal historians of nineteenth and twentieth centuries defined the main characteristics of the corporations and believed that one renaissance institution, the Casa di San…
Abstract
German legal historians of nineteenth and twentieth centuries defined the main characteristics of the corporations and believed that one renaissance institution, the Casa di San Giorgio at Genoa (1407–1805), was similar to the corporations of later centuries. This paper proposes to reverse this perspective: did the founders of early modern corporations know the financial model of the fifteenth century Casa di San Giorgio? The research shows the connection between the model of the Casa di San Giorgio and the Mississippi Company of John Law (1720), the famous financial scheme and bubble. The history of the Casa di San Giorgio was mainly transmitted through a passage of Machiavelli’s History of Florence (VIII, 29). The paper offers new biographical evidence that Law had been to Genoa and introduces sources connecting the genesis of Law’s scheme for the Mississippi Company in France with the model of the Casa di San Giorgio.
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Genevieve Catherine Myhal, Jikyeong Kang and John A. Murphy
This paper seeks to explore customer‐perceived relationship quality in a B2B setting, and to propose a conceptual model for this construct.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to explore customer‐perceived relationship quality in a B2B setting, and to propose a conceptual model for this construct.
Design/methodology/approach
An instrumental single case study design is adopted, and Eisenhardt's case study method for theory development is used to collect and analyse data from 55 different customer companies.
Findings
The research identifies a list of 208 components that are important to customers' relationship quality perceptions. These are grouped into seven parsimonious dimensions, which are assembled into a conceptual model. The IMP Group's relationship substance framework, composed of actor bonds, resource ties and activity links is built upon and expanded by adding four new dimensions: competitive position, external association, relationship impact, and situational factors. Together, these dimensions successfully encapsulate the items that customers within this study identify as important when evaluating the quality of their relationships with their service provider.
Research limitations/implications
Though the case study design used potentially limits the generalisability of findings, it is believed that the proposed model does have a wider resonance in terms of helping both academics and practitioners to understand relationship quality.
Practical implications
Because customer relationships (and the benefits derived from them) are difficult to duplicate, these may be a source of competitive advantage for firms. Managing these relationships, as well as their quality, emerges as a point of competitive distinction.
Originality/value
To one's knowledge, there is no published paper that provides a conceptual model of relationship quality using the customer's perspective in a B2B setting. It is believed that the research makes a significant contribution in terms of filling this gap in the knowledge.
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AMNA KHAN, Judith Zolkiewski and John Murphy
The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact and effect of renqing in Chinese business relationships. The research focused on a multinational organisation that is based in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact and effect of renqing in Chinese business relationships. The research focused on a multinational organisation that is based in China.
Design/methodology/approach
As the research was exploratory, a qualitative approach was adopted. The researcher was based in the organisation for a six-month period, and interviews were undertaken with purchasing managers.
Findings
The findings show that the Chinese concept of renqing comprises favours and opportunities.
Research limitations implications
The research is exploratory and further research is required to confirm the wider applicability of the findings.
Practical implications
The findings illustrate the importance of understanding the use of both favours and opportunities in business relationship in China. The findings also indicate the importance of being sensitive to cultural factors in business relationships.
Originality/value
This exploratory research indicates that previous conceptualisation of Renqing was limited, as the aspects it encompasses, favours and opportunities, were not identified. This research identifies the importance of opportunities in Chinese business relationships.
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Shintaro Okazaki, Charles R. Taylor, Patrick Vargas and Jörg Henseler
An unconscious concern regarding one’s inevitable death, known as mortality salience, may affect consumers’ brand choices in the aftermath of disastrous events, such as…
Abstract
Purpose
An unconscious concern regarding one’s inevitable death, known as mortality salience, may affect consumers’ brand choices in the aftermath of disastrous events, such as earthquakes. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of self-identification with global consumer culture (IDGCC) in global brand purchase intention in response to disasters that heighten mortality salience. The roles of materialism, consumer ethnocentrism, cosmopolitanism and hope in this this process are also explored.
Design/methodology/approach
An online experiment was conducted with a large sample of Japanese consumers. Japan was selected because it had recently suffered from a series of devastating earthquakes. Participants’ mortality salience was primed with an earthquake scenario. All measures were adapted from prior research. The authors used structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses and validate the model.
Findings
The results reveal that IDGCC is a direct predictor of global brand purchase intention when mortality salience is high. It appears that identifying with global consumer culture and buying global brands enhances self-esteem and reduces anxiety for those with high IDGCC. As predicted, materialism and cosmopolitanism positively influence IDGCC, whereas consumer ethnocentrism does not impede IDGCC. Hope directly and positively affects global brand purchase intention.
Research limitations/implications
Some consumers who experience traumatic events may resist mortality salience and experience a heightened sense of global citizenship. Meanwhile, those with lower IDGCC may revert to in-group favoritism, whereas those with higher IDGCC tend to purchase global brands. Using a scenario to simulate the mental state evoked by a disaster limits generalizability.
Practical implications
The findings illuminate how firms should modify their international marketing strategies in the face of traumatic global events when targeting consumers with high vs low IDGCC in terms of framing messages about global brands. Additionally, using global brands that emphasize an optimistic outlook may help global marketers capture attention from consumers high in IDGCC.
Originality/value
This study is one of the first to address traumatic events and hope, relating these concepts to IDGCC and global brand purchase intention in an international marketing context.
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12. The provisions of these Regulations with respect to prohibiting any preservative or colouring matter or thickening substance in articles of food and requiring the labelling of…
Abstract
12. The provisions of these Regulations with respect to prohibiting any preservative or colouring matter or thickening substance in articles of food and requiring the labelling of certain articles of food and of articles sold as preservatives shall not apply in the case of any article which is intended to be exported or re‐exported or in the case of butter intended for use as ships' stores.
Mark H. Moore and Anthony A. Braga
Police performance measurement systems based on traditional indicators, such as arrest rates and response times, prevent police organizations from moving towards a strategy of…
Abstract
Police performance measurement systems based on traditional indicators, such as arrest rates and response times, prevent police organizations from moving towards a strategy of community problem solving as there is no way to hold police departments externally accountable for addressing community concerns and no way to hold particular officers internally accountable for engaging community problem‐solving activities. In the absence of relevant measurement systems, police executives experience difficulty motivating their managers and line‐level officers to change their approach towards policing. A number of departments have made considerable progress in developing performance measurement systems that both address community concerns and drive their organizations towards a community problem‐solving strategy. This paper argues why police executives would want to measure performance, describes how measurement is important in driving organizational change, discusses what police departments should be measuring, and presents an exploratory qualitative analysis of the mechanisms at work in the New York Police Department’s Compstat and its application in six other police departments.
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In Finance Capital Hilferding suggests that, in the early stages of capitalist development, banks engage in short-term lending for “circulation” purposes, while concerning…
Abstract
In Finance Capital Hilferding suggests that, in the early stages of capitalist development, banks engage in short-term lending for “circulation” purposes, while concerning themselves with their liquidity. As capitalist development proceeds, banks lend longer-term for “investment” purposes, and their concern shifts to securing their solvency. Consequently, banks and industrial enterprises become amalgamated into “finance capital,” developing mutual “commitment” relations, and giving a bank-based character to the financial system. The core of Hilferding’s argument resembles Smith’s analysis of banking, but in important respects his argument is reminiscent of Steuart’s earlier and opposing analysis. Hilferding was able to integrate key elements of both approaches to banking by relying on Marx’s concept of loanable money capital, as well as on Marx’s claim that the average rate of interest is normally lower than the average rate of profit. However, Hilferding’s view that financial systems spontaneously become bank-based has not stood the test of time well. This failure is probably due to underestimating the importance of state intervention in shaping the financial system.
Mr Peter Coldwell has been appointed Sales Executive (Pallets) at Hawker Siddeley Aviation Ltd., Manchester. Mr Coldwell will be responsible for pallet sales to civil airlines…
Abstract
Mr Peter Coldwell has been appointed Sales Executive (Pallets) at Hawker Siddeley Aviation Ltd., Manchester. Mr Coldwell will be responsible for pallet sales to civil airlines, and his appointment coincides with the introduction by H.S.A. of a new long‐life cargo pallet designed to yield major savings in the cost of cargo operations.